NEW YORK – The moment of Zen consisted of 19,812 people standing and screaming their lungs out for a 68-year-old guy who probably won’t be seen in the building very often going forward, a guy who can’t play, can’t coach, and can’t do much besides ponder, meditate, theorize, project, and minister.

Still, as Zen moments go, it really beats the sound of one hand clapping.

Phil Jackson stood in front of his midcourt seat when he was introduced for the first time to the Garden crowd Wednesday night, his beaming countenance giving confidence and inspiration to the multitude, absorbing the kind of noise that he personally hasn't heard at this particular address in 40 years.

It was a different kind of night, believe it.

This 92-86 victory over the Pacers -- a No. 1 seed they rendered inept for much of the night -- had a different kind of buzz to it.

“The atmosphere is golden,” Amar’e Stoudemire said. “We have to capitalize on that. That standing ovation was well deserved. It was awesome.”

Jackson met with the coaching staff in Greenburgh in morning, then met the players a few hours before they took the floor for a seventh straight victory that kept this 28-40 long shot just four games behind eighth-place Atlanta (31-35). The meeting didn’t last long – just handshakes around the locker room, “and he said how excited he was about this opportunity and told us to focus on the game,” Carmelo Anthony said.

Melo heeded the advice, destroying Indy for 34 points, five assists and three steals, while Paul George had perhaps his worst game of the season (4-for-17, four turnovers). He didn’t say that Jackson’s presence inspired him, but he was clearly happy that the Knicks’ team president asserted Tuesday that he should remain part of the team’s foundation, even if he has room to improve.

"It's good to hear that. I'm blessed and honored to hear that," Anthony said. "I'm glad, I was hoping that I would be part of the future plans. I never once said that I wanted to leave New York or anything like that. The only thing I said was that I wanted to dabble in free agency, so I could opt out and become a free agent. I'm excited about that. I'm excited about the opportunity to hopefully go forward with Phil."

For one night, anyway, they showed they could go forward when they sustain their defensive energy. It was kind of hard to overlook the source.

“There’s energy in the city,” Mike Woodson said. “Bringing Phil back is huge for this franchise, I think, but I’ve got to give a lot of credit to those guys in the locker room because again we’re battling.”

You can appreciate the coach’s ambivalence. One of his players has already given his job away.

“It does look very promising because you have a guy like uh….I keep wanting to say ‘Coach,’ but Phil coming in, he has obviously a winning reputation,” Tyson Chandler said. “And knows what it takes to win. He makes you a believer.”

Chandler’s belief was manifested with 14 rebounds, as many as Indiana’s top three bigs had combined. Stoudemire kept rolling along with 21 points and four boards in just 29 minutes.

“With Amar’e and Tyson together,” Roy Hibbert said, “they are a lot bigger team than the last time we played them. Amar’e is getting healthy and he is definitely playing well and strong.”

And a winning streak now has its validating moment.

Just in time for the boss to share it.

“The energy is not just in the building. It’s throughout the whole city, all of New York City, the fans, all the supporters of the Knicks and you can feel it as we walk into the building,” Anthony said. “We want to keep that up, we want to build on that. As far as winning basketball games, we’re playing at a very high level right now.”